New to the Area, Looking for a Buddy

[fencingfish]

Hi!

I'm new to the Midwest diving scene, I recently moved here from New England where I was an active New England Lobsta Divah on the board. I was certified in summer of '08, and got a drysuit last fall to extend my diving season. Most of my diving has been in New England so I am no stranger to cold water and bad vis - I actually prefer it.

I'm hoping to dive France Park, IN on Sunday (10/3) and I was wondering if anyone was going to be there who I could buddy up with, or if anyone would like to join me? No preference on time, dive plan, etc. I usually like to slowly poke around and take pictures. I'd really like to see a paddlefish.

Thanks!

 

[Busdiver]

Welcome my friend. Did you relocate to Indy? There are numerous dive opportunities all year round in this region. Many of us will spend the warmer months hitting the different wrecks that the Great Lakes have to offer. There are a handful of quarries and inland lakes that seem quite popular and are open for most of the year. We also have a few rivers that provide the opportunity to drift dive, wreck dive, and hunt for treasure.

The Indy area has a very active dive group and from the folks I have met they are great people. They are not like Michigan divers but still good people. Be a little nervous chatting with Ohio divers. Try not to stare at the second head or figure out if it is a woman or man. Most are called Pat. If you bring a bag of buckeyes with you to an ohio quarry it is a sure way to make friends. They also like stuffed animals and fuzzy blankets. Chicago divers are the cultured bunch since they hail from something called a city. I have been to this place they call chicago and was confused when I did not see any corn fields and they had public transportation. Very strange. I walked up to many different people and yelled Pat and threw buckeyes at them. These are typical rituals used in Ohio to gain acceptance and demonstrate friendship. In Chicago it seems to anger folks. Wisconsin divers are usually intoxicated and hum the Laverne and Shirley theme song during safety stops. They are nice folks but their men all want to be like Squiggy.

So I hope to see you out at a dive site soon. I am usually in a black 4 door wrangler or a green VW bus. Stop by and say hello. By the way greeting rituals in my area of Michigan include others presenting six packs of beer (usually a nice local microbrew) to me.

Happy blowing bubbles (not Michael Jackson's Chimp),

Jamie aka bus

 

[tddfleming]

Busdiver, I am laughing so hard. I am org. from Columbus, OH. My husband was from the Cleveland area. Moved away 18 yrs ago. But you are correct, Buckeyes are the bomb-YUM! Woody Hayes will live on forever, GO BUCKS!, As for the whole Pat thing, I think you have hit the nail on the head. And in case you were wondering, I still have my fuzzy blanket.

One piece of advice while in Ohio, don't bad talk Woody Hayes. Fencing Fish, if you just remember these jokes while in MI all should go well for you.

Why did Michigan change their field from grass to artificial turf? To keep the Michigan cheerleaders from grazing

One day in an elementary school in Ann Arbor Michigan, a teacher asks her class if the Michigan Wolverines are their favorite football team. The whole class says yes except for Little Jimmy.

The teacher asks, "What's your favorite football team Jimmy?"

Little Jimmy says, "The Ohio State Buckeyes."

The teacher asks, "Well, why is that?"

Little Jimmy says, "Well, my dad is a Buckeye fan, my mom is a Buckeye fan, I guess that makes me a Buckeye fan."

The teacher angered by his reply says, "If your dad was a moron and your mom was an idiot what would that make you?"

Little Jimmy says, "Well, I guess that would make me a Michigan fan."

What do Michigan and pot have in common? They both get smoked in bowls!

Why do University of Michigan fans keep their diplomas on their dashboards? So they can park in handicap spaces.

What do you get when you cross a groundhog and a Wolverine? Six more weeks of bad football.

It was reported that Michigan head football coach Lloyd Carr will only be dressing twenty players for the Ohio State game. The rest of the players will have to get dressed by themselves

As for me, I am rolling on the floor with these OSU vs MI jokes. I am from a hard core OSU family.

Laugh on!!!

 

[mel snyder]

Welcome to the area, I'm one of the Ohio divers that Busdiver talks about. I dove France park once this year and seen a paddle fish, way cool! I usually go to Gilboa quarry here in Ohio closer for me. Hope to see ya out and about diving.

 

[pelagic_by_nature]

What do Michigan and pot have in common? They both get smoked in bowls!

:hurt: ouch

 

[fencingfish]

Oh my. I seem to have stumbled into something here. Thank you very much your your *ahem* advice. I'll keep all of the above in mind for making friends with local divers. And I'll be sure to refer back to the customs at specific sites. I usually just bring food to share as a universal greeting/plee for acceptance and it's worked so far at Haigh Quarry.

I relocated from Massachusetts to the Champaign-Urbana area of IL for graduate school where I'm studying fish. <-one reason I make an awesome dive buddy shameless plug. I definitely want to check out the great lakes diving when it warms up again.

No takers on a buddy for tomorrow. I'll probably show up there around 9 regardless and just hope for the best.

Thank you for all your help!

 

[Busdiver]

We may have a boat going out of Pt. Sanilac, MI next weekend. The preserve is beautiful and a few of the wrecks are loaded with fish. There where schools of perch sitting on the hull of the Regina for most of the year. There is a nice burbot that resides inside her.

And come on folks don't harsh on pot that way. It lasts a lot longer in a bowl than michigan. (Vandy grad--go Dores!!!!)

 

[BoneCrusher]

If you are around, come join us at the GLWC Meet and Greet at Gilboa. The thread for the event is GLWC Meet & Greet! This is a great place to find great local dive buddies.

Bus and I do a ton of diving in Lake Huron out of Port Sanilac. Its a great time both above and below the water. The season is just about over (for charters), so keep it in mind for next spring.

Hope we can catch up at some point. As with most people you will meet, I enjoy finding new dive buddies!

Welcome to the Midwest!!

 

[CamG]

Greetings fencingfish and welcome to the area!
The local quarries are nice representing some pretty cool fish.
Paddle fish, and one sturgen at Gilboa quarry. Numerous channel cats, sm & lg mouth bass, rainbow trout, several very old lake trout "if they are still alive", perch, red eye's "rock bass", blue gills, red ears, 6-8 coy, one nasty carp and many divers who so there best to create challenging visibility.

When I visited White Star vis was great not so many fish though, could have been the day. They do allow fishing there so it is possible they have been fished pretty hard.
I visited France Park about a month ago and the vis was very bad and zero paddlefish were seen. There are some really big large mouth bass and several flat head catfish, one is a biggy est. around 50lbs and 36-40 inches. They allow fishing as well so it can be interesting sometimes. Nice crappies, blue gills and when you see the paddle fish they are in the 6ft+ range.

I have chosen to head to the Great Lakes more next year as BoneCrusher and Bus diver have suggested.
I had some really awesome dives up at Sanilac this past season and am looking forward to next season. For me the wreck dives were far more interesting and the fish were wild and more to my liking.
The perch school that was mentioned was really beautiful on a dive not to long ago, and inside the Regina I saw many large Burbots, I am talking arm length and bellied down! Very interesting to me, it was a bummer my camera housing was destroyed earlier in the season.

A hidden divers paradise is actually in North east IN. There are over 101 lakes in one county alone. I have been in a handful of these and had some spectacular dives.
In one lake the variety of fish species was incredible. I have seen muskies, northern pike, walleyes, numerous pan fish, turtles, and other aquatic life.
It is sometimes very challenging to dive because of boat traffic and access but well worth the trouble in my opinion.

I am interested to hear just what you are studding and for whom. DNR?
The group of divers represented by the GLWC is a awesome bunch of characters and you will be welcomed open arms!
See you at the M&G in a couple of week ends!

CamG Keep diving....Keep training....Keep learning!

 

[tddfleming]

But in all seriousness, I hope you enjoy the midwest. There are plenty of good people and food. I get back home once a year or so. I always enjoy seeing old friends and family. Can never pass up White Castles, a good Massys pizza and Georges Coneys. Good Luck!